Research and Collections

From its beginning in 1836, the New York State Museum has been home to some of the nation’s leading scientists, including pioneers in archaeology, paleontology, ethnology, and botany. Its collections now rank among the finest in many fields and total more than sixteen million specimens, objects, and artifacts.

  • Three Sisters Diorama

    Archaeology

  • moth

    Biology

  • close up layers of rock

    Geology

  • Cultural History

    History

  • White basket

    Native American Ethnography

  • Cohoes Mastodon

    Paleontology

Research at the New York State Museum today is as exciting as it is varied, with scientists and historians actively directing projects in biology, anthropology, geology, paleontology, and history. Research by staff represents one tangible way in which information about the natural and cultural histories of New York, and the world, is made available to the public. Research findings are presented in scholarly and popular publications, at professional meetings, in exhibitions, and in public programs.

Researchers throughout the world use the collections of the New York State Museum to address questions about New York's natural and human heritage. The Museum’s collections are made available to researchers and scholars and are also used in exhibitions and public programs. Participation in Museum collections curation and research projects is possible through internships and volunteer opportunities.

To explore the Museum’s Research and Collections Division, hover your mouse over the Research and Collections block at the top navigation bar. 

News Articles

Published September 29, 2023 | Geologic Mapping

Geologists within the New York State Museum have been conducting geological mapping in partnership with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) for 40 years. This long-standing collaboration has helped the State Museum study and map the distribution of rocks and sediments across New York’s...

Archaeologists at work on a terrace above the Hudson River.
Published August 1, 2023 | CRSP

Archaeologists from the NYSM’s Cultural Resource Survey Program kicked off this year’s field season with a survey in the Hudson Highlands in an area overlooking the Hudson River not far from Manitou Mountain. This is within the traditional homeland of the Muh-he-con­neok, the People of the...

NYSM Bald Eagle
Published July 3, 2023 | Ornithology

Happy Fourth of July from the NYSM! This bald eagle, currently on display in Birds of New York Hall, is one of the oldest specimens from our collections and even pre-dates the discovery of the Cohoes Mastodon by sixteen years! The specimen, an adult male, was part of the personal collection of H...

Juneteenth Across New York State
Published June 12, 2023 | History

Although slavery in New York State was abolished on July 4, 1827, the institution of slavery in the United States did not officially come to an end for another thirty-eight years. On June 19, 1865, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the Civil...

NYSM crew and volunteers sifting in late August 2019
Published May 11, 2023 | Bioarchaeology

In 2019, bones dating back to the late 18th century were uncovered at a Lake George Village construction site. For the past four years, NYSM bioarchaeology staff Lisa Anderson, Julie Weatherwax, and Alexandra DeCarlo have been working together with the DEC to learn more about the remains to help...

Cowrie Shells Moneta (left), Annulus (center), and a Reticulated Cowrie Helmet (right) from the NYSM Historical Archaeology Collection.
Published February 23, 2023 | Historical Archaeology

Billions of Moneta and Annulus cowries from the Indian Ocean were traded for enslaved people along the west coast of Africa from the 15th through 19th centuries. Much larger reticulated cowrie helmets, native to the warm waters of the Caribbean, were not traded for enslaved...

Madam C.J. Walker’s Glossine hair paste and an advertisement (NYSM Collection H-2010.45.30-31)
Published February 22, 2023 | Social History

Madam C. J. Walker (1867–1919) was a successful entrepreneur, businesswoman, philanthropist, and social and political activist during a time when both African Americans and women were not common in the world of business. In 1906, she started her own hair product business specifically for African...

Silver spoon from the Powell Farmstead with Hannah Elizabeth Powell’s (nee Kilbourne) initials.
Published February 7, 2023 | Historical Archaeology

Agriculture has been central to the cultural history of the Hudson River Valley from the first indigenous farmers to 17th-century Dutch farms, and finally through the development of modern mechanized farming during the 19th century. Regrettably, the role of free African American farmers in the...

Bowfin species: A&B - Amia calva from South Carolina, C - A. ocellicauda from Ontario.
Published December 12, 2022 | Ichthyology

Bowfin fishes are recognized as evolutionary relicts or ‘living fossils’ that historically were distributed worldwide, going back almost 150 million years and living alongside dinosaurs. These fishes retain many of the morphological traits of their fossil ancestors and are found only in the...

DNA Research in Ornithology at the NYSM
Published December 12, 2022 | Ornithology

Museum specimens are important sources of DNA, used by researchers to discover the evolutionary relationships among species. NYSM zoology curators save small samples of muscle and other tissues from the specimens they prepare for our collections. The tissue samples from fish, bird, and mammal...

Projectile Points from the McVaugh Collection
Published November 28, 2022 | Native American Archaeology

Over the years, the NYSM has received donations of very large archaeological collections numbering hundreds of thousands of specimens—but small collections can also be important. One such donation, modest in size but rich in content, was made to the NYSM in 2019 by the McVaugh family.

...

Erie Canal, double locks in Rexford, NY
Published October 25, 2022 | Economic History

On October 26, 1825, the Erie Canal officially opened from Albany to Buffalo. The canal was an immediate success: shipping costs plummeted, and new services and goods became widely available. Cheap, reliable transportation opened new markets to farmers and businessmen, creating a commercial...

Singer industrial sewing machine, ca. 1972, collection of the NYSM.
Published September 14, 2022 | Social History

One sewing machine, two stories:

Some artifacts in our collection hold the stories of multiple individuals. This ca. 1972 Singer industrial sewing machine, recently donated to the NYSM, belonged to Tsui Ping Chu, an immigrant from Hong Kong. Chu used it in her home to sew clothing for her...

Commeraw Stoneware
Published August 2, 2022 | Historical Archaeology

New York stoneware vessels bearing the name “Commeraw” have been included in collections for years, but more recently they have become recognized for their historical importance. Thomas Commeraw was an African American potter who worked in the Corlear’s Hook area of Manhattan from 1793 until the...

Late Stone Age Crowfield Flute Point
Published July 25, 2022 | Native American Archaeology

Located in the middle reach of the Hudson River, Magdalene Island (Dutchess County, NY) has long been known to archaeologists as a location visited by ancient indigenous peoples. Until now, stone tools and other artifacts curated at the NYSM suggested the site was first occupied about 6,000...

Play Furniture, 1960
Published July 25, 2022 | Cultural History

This set of child-sized furniture was a birthday gift to the donor, Mary Alice Cole, from her parents, in the 1960s. She recalled many families in Watervliet, NY, having play houses in the back yard, where “playing house” was a popular activity for girls. 

Through much of the 20th century...

DeGraff Archaeological Site (credit: Andrea Becker, NYSDOT)
Published July 5, 2022 | CRSP

Staff from the Museum’s Cultural Resource Survey Program (CRSP) recently hosted staff and six student interns from the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT) at the historic period DeGraff archaeological site in the Mohawk Valley of Central New York. The CRSP performs surveys and site...

Stoneware detail
Published May 18, 2022 | Cultural History

This impressive stoneware water cooler is incised and impressed with decorations that depict the celebration of the Great National Jubilee of the Order of the Sons of Temperance, an organization founded in New York City in 1842.

Temperance iconography is portrayed throughout the design....

Handkerchief by Marion Weeber, 1937
Published March 14, 2022 | Cultural History

This screen-printed linen handkerchief was designed by Marion Weeber (1905-2000) in honor of King George VI’s coronation in England on March 8, 1937. It was manufactured by Burmel and sold at finer department stores. The handkerchief was framed and given as a gift to one of Weeber’s friends who...

Clufffalo: Art Omi, 2017 by Charles Cough
Published January 10, 2022 | Cultural History

A gift to the NYSM last year, Charles Clough's monumental paintingan awe-inspiring 9 x 16 feethas just been installed in New York Hall. To create it, Clough invited visitors to Art Omi, a contemporary art gallery and sculpture park in Ghent,...

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